Crimson and Clover
by tealtype
Summary: In which Loki is captured and needs rescuing. AU/Avengers Based. Sigyn/Loki [discontinued]
1. Chapter 1

**Crimson and Clover**

**Prompt:** Loki is captured by SHIELD

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Thor

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><p>He reaches out, pulling her into his arms. She cannot be real, he thinks, rather some figment of his imagination, telling him that he has finally lost touch of reality. Yet, there she stands.<p>

"How?" He asks, keeping her in his arms, wishing that she were not really here. She shouldn't be here, he knows. She's only pressing herself into more danger, too much danger. "My magic-"

"They have defenses against your magic," she says calmly. "Not mine."

He laughs, kissing her, trying to push back the worries that threaten to overtake him. She isn't safe here. He has no power to defend her and he's not sure that any of them will take her as innocent when she's clearly allying herself to him in this moment.

"You shouldn't be here."

"You needed rescuing. And I'm your knight in shining armor."

He wonders how many cameras are on them, exactly how many screens are flickering with their images. He pulls her tighter against him, wishing to shield her from them if nothing else.

"And how exactly do you intend upon saving me?"

"With this," she says, an amulet on a chain tangled on her fingers. "It's how I came here."

She is dressed like a mortal, thin pastel-colored clothes that reflect the summer weather, that ultimately clash with his Aesir attire. He kisses her. "My clever wife."

He doesn't tell her that his ears are straining for the sounds of rustling, shouting, attacking. Surely, he thinks, they must have seen them by now. Someone must have glanced up at the screens, saw the pretty mortal girl and sounded the alarm. He prays that they think that he's captured her, using her for bait.

"Lets go home," she says.

Home is her apartment, the little flat that she has taken up residence in as she masquerades as a mortal, a simpleton. Kathryn, that was what she called herself, who the people called asked for.

"Lets," he says, kissing her again.

She takes his hand, a smile on her face. But before she can call up the incantation inscribed in runes, he hears the rustling, the shouting. His body tenses and he lets go of her hand, pushing her behind him. He knows he cannot do anything to save her aside from hope that she isn't foolish enough to stay. He wills her to leave, prays that she'll vanish and he can be left to toy with those so-called avengers.

"Leave," he says through clenched teeth.

"Not without you."

If Thor recognizes her, he thinks, maybe he would save her. But, perhaps he would help incriminate her. Maybe, Thor would spare his wife and let her go. Yet, he feels it is more likely that Thor would take her, imprison her.

"Please," he says, hearing it all grow closer, seeing the men in suits flood in.

"No," she says, taking his hand in hers, fingers tracing the runes, beginning the incantation.

He fears it will take too long, that they will have her before she has finished. He sees the avengers filter in behind the suits, the one with arrows, the one with a suit of metal, Thor. They file in, all prepared to attack him. The one who is colored red, white and blue shouts for the release of the girl, calling her innocent. As they cross the length of the room, they're demanding answers and he realizes that Thor hasn't recognized her and for that he is thankful.

His hand clenches around hers, fearing for her. He can feel the warmth of her magic radiating from her fingertips, hears the way her mouth forms the ancient words and speaks them as though they were common language. Thor is approaching the glass that they are encaged in and he prays that she abandon him. It wouldn't take so long to simply transfer herself, no, it's because she's trying to save him that she'll risk herself.

Thor's hand is on the glass when she says the last word and he feels his body grow light. He laughs when he disappears from them. When he opens his eyes, he sees the plain apartment that she calls home, that they call home. She leans against him, their fingers still laced together.

"We're safe," she says, body slumping against his, eyelids closing from exhaustion.

He gathers her into his arms, kissing her forehead. "You shouldn't do things like that," he says, laying her on their bed. How many times has she saved him? Too many, he believes. Too often, when he should be doing the protecting, she is the one who is actually defending him. She has given him refuge, healed his wounds, intervened when she can. One day, he thinks, she will hurt herself and he won't be able to do anything to save her.

"I had to," she says, thin fingers wrapping around his wrist, drawing him towards her. He lays across from her, brushing strands of hair from her face.

"I would have escaped eventually. I always do."

"I needed you," she says, eyes closed, griping at his hand.

The words are vaguely familiar, similar to the ones he told her when he asked to marry her. She had been someone for him to talk to, to tell everything to. Yet, there had been an underlying sense of guilt that overwhelmed him, the idea that their private relationship broke propriety. She had deserved better, he had thought and it had been with that notion that they had privately married in the land of the Vanir. He had found the customs foreign but more endearing than the way that the Aesir did it. With the Aesir, there remained the underlying theme that the man would have the final say, that there would always be inequality in the marriage. Yet, the Vanir had stressed balance, a sense of parity that he felt reflected them well. Instead of solely her pledging everything to him, he had been made to give everything to her as well. They had promised their lives, bodies and souls to each other. They would be equals throughout life.

"You do well without me," he says, kissing her.

They had been so good at keeping their marriage quiet, better than they had with their relationship. She would sneak into his bed, telling him that she liked the thrill she got from alluding guards and the matrons that kept their hawk eyes on her. He would keep her in his arms until the first rays of light when she would pull away from him, promising to return. It had been Thor's fault, he thinks, that everything had fallen out in the open. Though, he thinks, he had been to blame as well. It was the morning that he had promised to go train with Thor when he tried to keep her longer, holding her hands, kissing her even when she repeated, through giggles, that she should go. He had known that Thor had always enjoyed going early, relishing the cooler weather of the mornings. He should have realized that Thor would barge in when he wasn't there waiting.

"No," she says quietly. "I need you."

Thor hadn't given him time to explain, to beg him to keep his secret. He had simply turned and gone to their father and mother, telling them what he had come across. His mother had been kind but his father had stared at him. He had never regained his father's trust after that. He didn't have her after that, they had sought to have her kept away from him, ordered her to remain with her people. His father had brushed off the marriage, pretending that his second-born son had never wed. Thor had apologized to him after that, eventually giving up when he refused to accept it. Only his mother had turned a blind eye and gave excuses when he vanished, finding refuge in Sigyn's arms.

When he had fallen to Midgard, the bridge broken, he had assumed that he would never see her again. Yet, she had, finding a way to him. The first night they had been together, when he refused to let her go out of fear that it was all an illusion, he had asked her how she had known and she had smiled at him and said she felt he needed her. While he went about his ways, planning the taking of a world, she had remained constant, establishing a life for herself, a cover for herself. She had assimilated, made friends. She never questioned him and he didn't question her. There had only been one request made by her and it had been simple: to come home every night. He had laughed when she told him, insisting there was no where else he rather be. Their evenings were private, he wanted to make up for lost time. Some days he spent with her, met her friends, was quiet and made observations while she easily conversed with them.

"Why?" He asks, edging closer to her, wondering if she's already fallen asleep.

"Because," she says, taking his hand. She presses it against the breezy fabric of her shirt. "I'm pregnant."


	2. Chapter 2

**2.**

She is gone when he wakes and he refuses to believe that he is frantically searching for her. Yet, he is quick to leave the room and keeps a fast pace when he scans the rest of the apartment before finding her sitting in the middle of the small study. She sits cross-legged on the hardwood floor, hands on her knees.

He stands in the doorway, staring at her for what feels like the longest time. "We'll have to move these things," he says quietly.

She nods, keeping her place on the floor. For the last twenty minutes she has been letting the idea of redecorating this room occupy her thoughts. She cannot imagine where they'll move the furniture, hoping that they'll fit somewhere else. They have too many books, she thinks, gray eyes focusing on the shelves.

"So?" She finally asks, glancing up at him. "What do you think?"

He smiles weakly, walking to her and sitting beside her on the floor. "I don't know," he says. She leans against him and he wraps his arm around her shoulders. "It'll be different," is all he can manage to say. He wants to tell her that he's excited, overjoyed beyond belief. Yet, that would be a lie. He is completely and utterly terrified. Still fresh in his mind are the recollections of just how many times she has had to save him, how many times he has failed to protect her.

His grip around her shoulders tightens. For a second, he is afraid that she will be taken from him again. It's been so long since that moment, the day when she was sent away, banished from returning to Asgard, but he can't forget the look that was in her eyes.

"It will," she says, with a small laugh, breaking him from his reverie.

"I'm going to stay with you."

She twists in his arms to look up at him, frowning. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm going to take a break from causing havoc," he says, his turn to laugh. He can only imagine what those so called avengers will think when he stops trying to destroy the world. He likes to believe that they will be perplexed, bewildered as they try to figure out what he is planning only for there to be nothing to find.

"And do what? Become domestic?"

"Perhaps," he says, kissing her.

* * *

><p>She paints while he moves the boxes of books into their room. When he first came in to clear the shelves she had broken into a fit of giggles. She couldn't recall a moment that she had ever seen him in such plain attire; jeans and a t-shirt that she had bought so long ago and he had refused to wear. Of course, now he opts to wear it, avoiding the suits that had been his alternative from Aesir clothing.<p>

And, of course, when she had been reduced to a laughing state, he had not been above striding over to her, dipping his index finger in the paint and smearing it across her cheek. She had been beyond retaliation, struggling to regain composure while he took the books from the shelves and carefully set them into boxes.

She gives up at one point, wiping her hands on a towel, leaving him to finish with the last box. She sets a pot of water to boil, pulling what she needs from the cupboards. She takes a box of noodles and one little jar of sauce out when he leans next to her her, elbows on the counter.

"Well?" She asks, reading the instructions on the box. "How do you like being a domestic?"

"It's different."

She's quite sure that he's going crazy. For four weeks straight, he has done nothing but stay with her, following her to the point that she's quite sure some of the neighbors who don't realize that they're married think that he's stalking her. He's even had the audacity to come to work with her, taking full advantage that she works in a used book shop. Of course, he could only get away with reading in the shelves for so long before the wiry woman who ran the shop and knew he was Sigyn, no, Kathryn's husband, put him to work. For the last three weeks, he had been helping the two of them with odd-end jobs which amused her to no end.

"You don't have to do this," she says.

"I much rather be here with you."

She laughs, breaking the seal on the jar. "I highly doubt that."

"Oh?"

"You couldn't sit still if your life depended on it. How you intend to be content with this is beyond my understand," she says. She has seen him shape-shift, always be on the move. The only times she had seen him remain in one place was when he became entranced by what he was reading.

"I am as long as you're here."

"Am I just something to occupy your time then?" She asks, pouring the noodles that she's measured out into the pot.

"You're far more than that, Love."

* * *

><p>"I need you to fill out a few things," the nurse says passing her the paper while he stands, their newborn son in his arms. The woman glances between the two, smiling when she sees how he rocks from side to side, eyes focused solely on his child. "Okay, Dear?"<p>

"All right," she says, taking the clipboard and pen, scanning down the page. While she makes an attempt to read what they want her to know, a smile tugs at the corner of her lips. He's kept the baby in his arms since they let him, whispering things to the newborn that she can never hear all of. She's amused by it all and struggles to focus on the forms before her.

When the nurse leaves, he glances at his wife. "What did you call him?"

"Aaron," she says, the pen scratching against the paper. "I heard someone use the name and I thought it was nice."

He nods, touching at the baby's cheek. "Vali," he says softly. That was the name they agreed upon, something she had insisted upon. He had left the choice of a mortal name to her, saying it didn't matter what she chose, he wouldn't use it for their son in any case.

"He's going to look a lot like you," she says, setting the papers aside, smiling at him. "I can tell."

* * *

><p>And just about the time that Tony Stark began spreading the notion that Loki had gone and died was when things picked up again. "God," Tony says, looking through the statistics on the last few sabotage stunts. "Do you think it's because we said his name too many times?"<p>

"It almost seems like he went into some kind of hibernation," Steve says, nervously laughing.

"Do you hibernate, Thor?" Tony asks, a serious expression on his face.

The god stands there unsure of what to say. When his brother's activities had died down following his escape stunt, he had believed his brother to be redeeming himself, to be choosing a different life. Yet, when he had not made an attempt to contact Thor, he had worried. While he waited for some sort of message from his brother, he reviewed the footage of his brother. He studied the thin face, squinted to see how his brother had reacted when the girl appear out of thin air. Thor had mentally noted the way his brother had been so quick to embrace her, hide her, protect her.

It had been on the fifth viewing that the face became more than just of some allusion as Steve insisted it must have been. He had seen the familiar eyes, soft features that had forced him to relive a moment that had made his brother resent him.

He still does not tell the others that it was his brother's wife who appeared and helped him escape. He doesn't want them to start searching the city for her because he cannot bear to see the same look of desperation on his brother's face that came when he was held back and she was led away. And, as Thor justifies it, she could quite possibly be the one who held him back from causing so much mayhem for all those months and may be slowly redeeming him.

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><p>It's late in the battle when his brother begins to run. They pursue him but are stopped when Loki begins to hurl whatever he can find towards them. Bewitching sitting automobiles and whatever else he spies, he throws it back at the pathetic people who attempt to follow him. The damage he does stops a good many of them save for Thor who attempts to apply what he's seen his brother do so well.<p>

He is sneaky, following the line of the buildings rather than chasing directly after his brother. He stays a few feet behind, amazed that his brother doesn't notice. Instead, Loki is too focused on the Hulk, throwing whatever he can at the thing before finally cloaking the area. Thor, just outside of the created haze, is impressed by what his brother does. Running into the crowds of pedestrians, he flicks his wrist and the Aesir armor melts into a business suit that blends in better.

Thor continues to follow him, edging through the crowds, wishing in that moment that he shared his brother's ability to understand magic. He follows Loki through endless crowded streets, hearing the talk focus on what has been going on in other parts of the city. He follows him until he sees Loki quietly slip into an apartment building. He watches his brother take the stairs, climbing several flights while attempting to remain unseen.

He peers around the corner, studying how calm his brother is when he finally enters into an apartment. Then he waits, debating if he should knock, see if his brother will see him. The worst that can happen is his brother will attempt to kill him, the best is that he'll be let in and they might be able to talk without it coming to blows. Forever optimistic, Thor goes to the door and knocks.

He isn't expecting what happens. The door opens and he sees her on the other side, the smile she had been wearing vanishing when their eyes lock. "Thor," the whispered word slips from her mouth and he fears she might scream by the look of terror she has in her eyes.

"Sigyn, please," he quietly begs.

But when he's debating if he shouldn't just cover her mouth in case she does scream so that he might explain, Loki rounds the corner, tie gone, collar not so neatly buttoned and sleeves rolled up. In his arms, Thor notices, is a baby that Loki cradles close to his chest. "Sigyn-" Loki begins, stopping when he sees who's at their door. "Sigyn," he shouts and she is at Loki's side in that instant.

And while Thor simply stands there, half-attempted reasons falling from his mouth, he watches the way his brother presses the child into her arms, kisses her and orders to her to hide before striding closer.

"What do you want?" There is malice dripping in his words.

"I wanted to talk."

"Oh?" He sneers. "You won't take them from me."

Thor pales a little at the magic he can see brewing at his brother's fingertips. "I wanted to speak with you. Please," he pleads. "There is not a day that goes by I do not regret telling Father."

Loki is still tense but the impending threat of death appears gone to Thor. "Make it quick."

"She is the one who helped you escape, isn't she?" The dark haired man doesn't answer but from the way the muscles in his jaw tighten, Thor assumes he is correct. "I haven't told them anything. I didn't say you had a wife, you must believe me, I didn't say a thing to them."

"So you will administer your own justice?"

"No, Loki," he says, trying to convey as much love and tenderness as he can in his words. "They think it was an illusion of yours and I haven't said a word otherwise." If anything, he thinks, he's encouraged the idea. "I simply wanted to see you again." He doesn't add 'like before' fearing that he'll lose all the ground he's achieved with Loki. "I mean no harm."

Loki doesn't move but behind him, Thor spies Sigyn glance around the corner. "Do you swear?" She asks.

"I swear," he says, thankful when she comes out, the infant still in her arms.

"Sigyn, please."

"I trust him," she says. "He would have done something by now if he wanted to hurt us."

"It may just be a trap."

"I don't think so." She smiles and Thor is grateful. "Come in and shut the door before the neighbors call the police," she says softly.

Thor closes the door behind him, edging closer to the couch. "May I sit down?"

"Please," she says. Loki only moves to keep himself positioned between the two of them.

"And who is that?" Thor asks nervously from his place on the couch, gesturing to the child in her arms.

"Vali," she says, stepping into the kitchen and emerging with a bottle.

"My nephew." Thor smiles.

Loki's frown deepens. "He isn't your nephew," he says bitterly.

She holds the bottle for her son, glancing at her husband. "Loki," she says quietly. "Please."

He puts his arm around her shoulders and perches on the arm of the chair she settles in, looking down at Vali. "This is why you've been gone then, I take it," Thor starts awkwardly. When Loki simply glowers at him, he attempts again. "I was surprised to see you here, Sigyn. When did you come here?"

"Not long after Loki came." Thor glances away and Sigyn musters a little smile. "Would you care to stay for dinner, Thor?"

"Only if it is no trouble." The look on Loki's face tells him that it can only mean trouble but Sigyn shakes her head.

"None at all."

She hands Loki their son, taking the tiny empty bottle with her back into the kitchen where she checks on dinner's progress.

"You've been living here, then?" Thor looks at his brother, expecting the same scowl but finds that it has disappeared as he focuses on his son.

"Yes," he whispers, glancing up. "It's not improper. We are married or have you forgotten, Thor?" He hisses the last part of the sentence.

Thor shakes his head. "Of course not. It's simply that I've been worried," he says. "I didn't know where you were living and I hoped that you had been doing well for yourself."

"I have been perfectly fine."

"Are you happy, Loki?"

"Yes."

* * *

><p>Thor begins making regular appearances, usually appearing in time for dinner. Sigyn laughs at the sight. Two brothers who can make war with each other take a little time to be civil with each other. The tension, she realizes, is always there and won't go away, but it is chipped away at. Progress is lost when Thor makes a simple request of Loki one evening.<p>

"May I hold him?"

Loki's grip on his son tightens and he is quick to say, "No." But when Sigyn rests her hand on his shoulder, fingers pressing a cryptic message into his skin, he stares at Vali. "Fine," he says.

Thor comes over, holding out his arms, and Loki is hesitant to release his son. Yet, he does, feeling a little more confidence when Sigyn warns Thor to be careful and directs him to support the baby's head. He sits on edge while Sigyn leaves his side and gently nudges Thor's arms into a better position.

"Is this correct?" He asks Sigyn who nods.

"Perfect, Thor."


	3. Chapter 3

**3.**

She presses her back against brick, pausing only to shift the child in her arms. She brings her fingers to run against his cheek, wishing that he wouldn't whimper. "Please, Vali," she says softly. "You'll tell them where we are and your father wouldn't like that."

She kisses the boy's forehead, holding him closer. Even in the dark, the city is bright, alive with streetlights and people. The pulse is faster tonight, the city's protectors, though she laughs at the term, swarming one building, all trying to disable one man.

After so many successes at alluding them, he'd become reckless, she realizes, and so full of himself. He hadn't noticed how they tracked him, how they were able to find him before it was too late. He had told her to leave and she had, pulling the fire alarm as she had run down the stairs. It caused a little chaos and helped her hide while distracting those avengers. She had wished that he might have run, too, or that he'd at least made another attempt to allude them.

She hasn't run far, remaining close enough that she can see what goes on. She is quiet when they gain the upper hand and have him debilitated. Yet, even with his magic cut off, he wears a grin when they take him away, a sense of victory still in his features. She stays still, considering where exactly she can go at this hour. She glances at her son, whispering to him that she understands he rather be safe in his bed because she rather be safe in his father's arms.

"It's you."

She turns, swallowing the panic that threatens to overtake her.

* * *

><p>She had been collecting the plates one evening when curiosity had gotten the better of him. He had been emboldened by the fact that his brother had left the room to put their son to bed. "What was your wedding like?" He had asked, genuinely interested.<p>

"Simple. Hasty," she said, her forearms hidden by suds in the kitchen sink. "It was nothing like you would expect." She glanced up at him. "Why?"

"I always wondered," he said. "I wish I might have been there."

He wished he had known, that Loki had confided in him that he was marrying. Instead, his brother hadn't trusted him enough to say a word. He had never known that his brother had even fallen for the girl, a prize from war. That had been what he had used to justify his shock. His brother hadn't told him that he had fallen in love, that he had married. One day, he'd simply come across her in his brother's bed and hadn't known what to think.

"Well, you didn't miss anything." She crinkled her nose, focused on her work. "I borrowed a dress from my sister and she attempted to do my hair." She laughed and he had smiled. "I looked absolutely ridiculous."

"I thought you looked beautiful." He turned to see his brother walking towards them. She smiled at her husband and Thor felt out of place.

* * *

><p>Thor looks up to see her being led in, her son in her arms, eyes focused on the ground. He pales and makes a mistake when he calls her name. She glances at him as does the rest of the team. While her gaze drops back to her son, everyone else remains focused on him.<p>

"Do you know her?"

They had reviewed the footage from the night Loki escaped to know her face, to be able to recognize her.

"Yes," he says quietly.

* * *

><p>It had been another night, another bout of curiosity resting in the pit of his stomach. "How did you meet him?"<p>

These conversations often played out as they stood in the kitchen. She handed him plates to be dried, deciding to occupy his time. The first time his brother had seen him there, dish towel in hand, he had looked at Sigyn and asked her if it was a good idea to let the clumsy man be drying plates.

She had shaken her head at the question. "There are some things, Thor, that I prefer to remain between him and I."

He had accepted that answer, not going any further though he wondered what it meant. He knew that whatever occurred between them had crossed into the regions of taboo. Royalty did not give the light of day to people captured when they didn't have to. To love, to marry such a war prize had meant that Loki had lowered himself. Though, Thor admitted, she was beautiful and she had proven herself to be kind.

* * *

><p>Thor avoids their questioning, begging for an audience with her alone. It is eventually given to him when he tells them her name. He is let into the room where she sits, humming to her son.<p>

"Sigyn," he says softly, sitting across from her.

"What have you told them?"

"Only your name and that I know you."

"Nothing else?"

"No."

She looks at him with sad gray eyes. "They would use it against him if they knew," she whispers.

"They would not harm you or Vali. They are kind people."

"Thor, they fear him," she says, voice straining as she tries to keep quiet. "Do you think they would be so kind to Vali?" She cringes a little. "He could be an experiment for them, something to be used against him."

"Sigyn," he says softly. "Remember when Loki escaped?"

"Yes."

"I have something. You could use it." She glances to his fist, seeing the edge of an amulet poking out from under his fingers.

"I can't." She holds out her hand, pressing her palm against the cool metal of the table. He sees the faint glow from her fingertips, not as radiant as he remembers from once long ago when she had come running after their return to Asgard, when he had been supporting Loki who had one hand pressed to his side. He hadn't realized then that her concern was more than a servant's for a future-king. When she had run past Eir and stopped at their side, pressing her palm to his side, he had suspected Loki to scream at her, yet he had stopped and been quiet, letting her heal him. Eir had commented that she had some talent but her lowly status kept her from being trained.

"Your magic," he breathes when she quickly pulls her hand back.

"I haven't regained it back." He sees her smile at Vali, adjusting the blanket around him. "But it was worth it," she whispers, kissing her son's forehead.

"I will find a way to get you out of here."

"Thank you," she says.

* * *

><p>Sigyn was the one who gave him a key to their apartment, her only demand was that he come dressed as a mortal. It was a simple request that he followed to the letter, only asking her once why she demanded such.<p>

"Because I don't want to have to explain it the neighbors," she said with a laugh and a gleam in her eyes.

Sometimes he had let himself in when he knew that his brother wasn't home because he enjoyed the conversations he had with Sigyn. In her, he found someone who valued his brother like he did. It was also easier without Loki present to ask the questions that nagged him. For while Loki would stare and irately repeat that he would answer no such thing, she would give him an answer.

It had been in the evening, he had quietly slipped the key in and come inside expecting Sigyn working on dinner, Loki sitting with their son in his arms making all efforts for the child to smile. Yet, neither of them had been in place and he feared he had forgotten something important. But when he thought about, had glanced at the calendar that Sigyn had put on the fridge, he stepped further into the apartment. Vali was asleep in his crib so Thor assumed that Sigyn or Loki couldn't be far away.

He felt like he intruded. He saw the weaker side of his brother. They had their backs to him, sitting on the edge of their bed. He clung to her, fingers twisted into her clothing, face buried into her shoulder, while she had her arms around him, whispering to him.

Thor had left quietly, intent that they never know he was there. Yet, the next evening, when it was just him and Sigyn in the kitchen, she had looked into his eyes and told him that she knew what he had seen. "Sometimes he lapses," she said. "He thinks that he won't see me again, that he won't see Vali again. It crushes him."

* * *

><p>He manages to slip away, to see his brother alone. He knows that the cameras are on him, that he should be careful with his words but there isn't time to be elegant. Sigyn's fears remain at the forefront of his mind and he hates to think that there is truth to her words. With them captured, they have something to use against their greatest enemy, the one who always seems to be able to outwit him.<p>

"What do you want?" He hears Loki say. They were more careful this time. Even though it's the same capsule that he was placed in last time, there are more strict precautions in place.

"Could you enchant something?"

"Are you truly that stupid?" He taps against the glass with his knuckle. "They have disabled me quite effectively this time and have prevented all other measures for escape."

"If those weren't in place could you enchant something?" He holds up his amulet, the one that matched the one Sigyn had used before. The two had been gifts from their mother when they had gone with their father for the first time. She had bewitched the things to take them anywhere they wanted to go, though it would only do so once so they should be very careful with it. When Thor had used up the enchantment, he kept it as a charm from his mother for good luck, while Loki learned how to re-enchant his and had continued to use it.

"Why should I do that for you?"

"Because someone needs it, someone you would want to use it."

"What are you talking about?"

"You must trust me, Loki," he says, standing over the panel. He can sort of recall the combination of buttons that Dr. Banner pressed. "If I disable this, you must promise to enchant this and not escape."

"Do you think me so trustworthy?"

"Yes," he begins tapping the combination of buttons. "Because the lives of people you care about depend on it." He watches his brother tense, observes how he doesn't move a muscle when the machine alerts him that it is turning off the damper.

"They got away," he says, narrow eyes meeting Thor's blue eyes.

"They almost did." He navigates into the capsule, holding out the amulet. His brother snatches it from him, running his thumb over the runes.

"You will save them?"

"No," Thor says, laughing when he sees the way that the rounded amulet glows. "You will."

* * *

><p>He had once considered his brother beyond hope, that something inside him had broken and he could never return to the man he once knew. Yet, that fear that had lived inside of him disappeared when he saw how careful his brother was with his son. How delicately he held him, the smile that appeared when the child grasped his finger.<p>

Sigyn had caught him staring once and whispered close to his ear. "Did you think him a monster, too?"

"No," he said quickly, turning to look at her. "I was afraid," he admitted quietly. "That the brother I knew was gone."

She touched his shoulder. "He never left, he just receded into himself," she said, before leaving him to go by her husband's side.

It had left Thor to wonder how things might have played out differently if his father had reacted more like their mother. Instead of seeing his son as having lowered himself, blemishing the royal family, if he'd accepted the idea.

* * *

><p>She knocks on the door, the amulet Thor gave her buried in her pocket. At the door is her employer wearing a robe and adjusting her glasses. "Kathryn?"<p>

"Yes," she says, weakly smiling.

"Dear, it's two in the morning, what's wrong?"

"There were some problems," she says softly.

"Well, come inside." She closes the door behind Sigyn, directing her to the kitchen. "I'll make you some tea," she says quickly, pulling things from cupboards and drawers. "What happened?"

"There was some trouble."

"Where's Luke?"

"It's difficult to explain." She shakes her head. "Is there someplace I could lay him down?" She asks softly.

"Of course, of course."

It's after they've created a place for Vali to sleep out of folded sheets and pillows that the woman returns to the kitchen and pours the tea into two cups, handing one to Sigyn that she asks, "Is he all right?"

"Yeah." She takes a sip, staring at her son. "He'll be fine."

"And I'm sure whatever's going on will be cleared up by morning. Luke's a nice boy," she says, looking at her employee.

"Yeah."

"I'll bring out some sheets and you can sleep here, okay?"

Sigyn looks at her. "Thank you. I don't know how I could repay you."

The woman rests a hand on Sigyn's shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

* * *

><p>"Were you good for your mother?"<p>

She turns on the couch, eyes fluttering open briefly to see that her son is still asleep in his make-shift bed. She buries herself deeper into her pillow wondering how much time has passed since her employer told her to not bother about going to work that morning and now.

She was quite sure she was asleep when she feels a second body press against her, teetering on the edge of the couch. She smiles when he pulls her against him so that he can get away from the edge.

"Took you long enough," she says quietly.

He doesn't tell her how thankful he was for Thor in that moment,that he couldn't understand why he would put so much on the line for him. He doesn't tell her how he broke out, shattering their so-called perfected prison for him, doesn't think he need mention that he didn't attempt to murder them, simply caused a little destruction before leaving. He doesn't tell her that he searched the apartment first, that it took him time to think rationally and go to where the book shop where she worked, where much to his relief, the woman gave him the key to her home and told him that she was there.

"I had to at least let them think they'd won for a little while. It was only fair."


	4. Chapter 4

**4.**

His shoulders slump when he closes the door behind him. The apartment is quiet and he knows he's late. Stepping into kitchen, the wild hope that there might be something left out for him is quickly dashed when he notes how clean everything is. He begins to walk back to their room when he stops at the door to their son's room, hearing Sigyn.

He gently pushes the door open, glancing through a widened crack at Sigyn sitting on the floor by the boy's bed, Vali laying on the floor, tucked under her arm, following along as she reads to him. She pauses in her reading when the boy's sleepy gaze reaches the door and he grins.

"Papa!" He scrambles from the floor, discarding the blanket wound around him and leaving his mother to sit there with the book on her lap. The child scurries to the door, widening the gap to slip through and throwing his arms around his father's leg.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" He asks, touching the boy's head.

"Mama said I may wait for you to come home."

"Well, I am home." He picks up the four-year-old and carries him back into the room. "And it's time for you to go to bed."

The boy shoots his mother a pleading look. "Mama, please? May I stay awake longer?"

Sigyn rises, book still in her hands. "No, little one." She kisses the little boy's forehead when he stares at her from his place in his father's arms.

Loki smiles, setting the boy onto his bed. "Goodnight, Vali."

The boy lays down while his mother takes the blanket from the floor and lays it over him. He stares at his parents before yawning. "Goodnight Papa, goodnight Mama."

Loki leaves the room first while Sigyn makes the boy promise that he won't try to stay awake reading. When she has his word, she leaves the room, turning the light off and shutting the door behind her.

He wraps his arm around her waist, kissing her cheek. "Is there any dinner left?" He asks, pressing against her.

"Yes," she says, walking to the kitchen, him trailing, still holding onto her. He clings onto her as she brings out a small container of food from the fridge and sets about heating it up on the stove. "So what took so long?" She asks.

"They were being incredibly persistent tonight. I kept trying to lose them but they were always there." He kisses her. "But I'm home now."

She smiles. "I'm glad."

* * *

><p>"Papa?"<p>

He glances down at the small boy cradling a book to his chest. "Yes?"

"I want a little brother."

"You what?" He frowns, imagining that he has missed something or that his son has forgotten to give the lengthy explanation where this became a reasonable request.

"I want a little brother." He crawls into his father's lap, staring at matching green eyes. "Like Christopher from the park."

"Why exactly do you want a little brother?"

"Because they have fun together. And they do so much together. I want a little brother."

"Vali, it's not that simple."

"Why not?"

He stares at the boy, glancing past the child to the kitchen where Sigyn shuffles between counter, sink and stove. "It's difficult to explain."

"Please?"

"Why don't you ask your mother about it?"

The child stares at him before hopping from his father's lap and going into the kitchen. He winces when he hears the child make the same statement to his mother but doesn't listen to her response, attention focusing on Thor who walks in.

He waits until they are alone. When she's pulling her hair back into a loose ponytail before bed, he looks at her, asking, "What did you say to Vali?"

She glances back at him. "Aside from calling his father a coward for not being able to confront the question?"

"Aside from that," he says, watching her step closer to him, sitting on the edge of the bed next to him.

"Well, I told him that it was something we would have to talk about and that it was our decision-"

"Did you tell him no?" He asks, interrupting her.

"I did not tell him no," she says, smiling. "Because I like the idea that he wants a little brother."

"If you don't say no to him, he's going to ask again."

"If I tell him no then he won't be as excited when he does have a little sibling."

"Sigyn, that is entirely dependent on us having another child and-"

"Loki," she says, still smiling.

He stares at her. "Oh."


	5. Chapter 5

**5.**

Thor walks into the apartment knowing fully well that Loki is not there and instead being temporary held prisoner. Not that he would tell Sigyn that. He knows it is a matter of seconds before Loki overloads the system containing him, destroys equipment, breaks walls and makes them chase him down until he disappears into the masses.

It's what always happens, though Loki has been conveniently timing it so that it is minutes after he talks to Thor, leading the others to think that Thor has been too easy on his brother. And it is such patterns that cause the others to distrust Thor's presence when his brother is being held captive, leading them to suggest that he perhaps go out when they have Loki under control.

He closes the door behind him, smiling. "Sigyn?"

Instead of his sister-in-law, a small boy appears, running to him. "Uncle Thor," the child squeals, catching the god in a hug.

"Vali," he says, crouching to grab the boy. "Where is your mother?"

"She was making the bed," he says, green eyes staring at blue. "And I was picking up."

He releases the boy. "You should not have abandoned your task like that then." Thor gently nudges the child forward. "It would probably be best if you returned to cleaning."

Vali nods, running back while Thor follows him. When the child ducks into his own room, returning to furiously shelving books that have slowly began to accrue at his bedside, Thor steps into Loki and Sigyn's room, finding her smoothing out the comforter.

"Hello, Thor," she says, smiling at him.

"How are you?"

"I'm doing well." She throws a pillow onto the bed. "What brings you out this early?"

"Decided to take a walk and I decided to come here." He is quiet, attempting to give words to what has occupied his mind. "Sigyn?"

"Yes?"

"Will he do what he did again?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Before Vali was born," he says, awkwardly gesturing with his hands. "He seemingly disappeared. Will he do that again?"

"I can't tell you. He does what he thinks is best."

"Of course." He leans in the doorframe, watching her toss the second pillow onto the bed before sitting on the edge. "What is it?"

"I suspect he's not pleased about this."

He frowns, stepping over to her and sitting beside her. "What do you mean?"

"I don't think he wants this," she says quietly. "But he won't say so."

Thor opens his mouth to respond, prepared to dispel the notion, ready to tell her that his brother could never think such a thing. Yet, when he's about to speak that, Vali comes in, burying his face into his mother's lap, smiling.

"I've finished, Mama."

She touches the boy's face, smiling at him. "Have you put away everything?"

"Yes, Mama." He clutches at the material of her skirt. "May we go to the park now, Mama?"

"After I check your room." She kisses his forehead. "If it's clean as you say, we may."

"And may Uncle Thor come too?"

"If he wishes."

The boy stares at Thor, green eyes begging that the blonde haired man will say yes. "Please, Uncle Thor?"

"Why not?" He says with a grin.

The child scampers from the room while Sigyn is slower to follow. Thor doesn't move, still letting Sigyn's words run through his mind. He cannot see any truth to her fears. He has seen his brother's natural inclination to caring for his son, the way his brother read to his son and took an interest in everything Vali did. It was hard to forget the time that he had complimented him on it and he had seen the bitter look in Loki's eyes as he hissed that he refused to let his son feel as he had when he had grown up in Odin's care. His son, he had said, deserved better.

Vali runs to Thor, grabbing his hand, pulling him from his thoughts. "Mama has said we may go," he said, a wide grin spread across his features.

Thor smiles. "Of course, of course." He lets the child drag him from the room.

When they reach the park, Sigyn lets Vali go, the child scurrying over to the boy named Christopher standing next to his brother. She sits on a bench, her hands folded in her lap, gray eyes following her son. Thor sits beside her, glancing between her and Vali. "Is Vali excited for another sibling?"

"Very much so." She smiles, watching the boys spring into a game of tag. "He wants a little brother."

"And what about you? Would you prefer another son or do you want a daughter?"

"Honestly? I would like a girl. But I think it will be a boy."

"Mother's intuition?" He asks, laughing.

"Not that. Just a belief."

He stares at her, remembering faintly that she is a Vanir. "A vision?"

She shakes her head, laughing at the idea. "Simply a belief."

* * *

><p>"Loki?"<p>

He doesn't open his eyes, his arms still wound around her, holding her against him. "Hm?"

"Are you happy?" She asks, her hands resting over his.

"Yes."

"Even with this unexpected development?" She smiles, wrapping her fingers around his hands.

"Yes," he says, kissing her shoulder. "I'm afraid though."

"Of what?"

He is quiet, remembering the close calls, all the times when he was terrified that she and Vali would be in harm's way. He can recall the records that the so-called avengers had on her, the mention of her in his file, the questions that they had for him about her. It may have been a few years after they had first seen her, first captured her, yet they had not forgotten about her. His grip on her tightens, twisting their fingers together. His voice is quiet when he speaks, swallowing back the fears that have settled in the back of his throat. "That I will not be able to keep my family safe."


	6. Chapter 6

**6.**

It is another late night of eluding avengers, creating a little havoc here and there, though he swears this one is the last for a while. She'll need him at home now, he thinks, locking the door behind him. His fingers undo the tie's knot out of habit as he strides to their room. He can't think about food, only sleep and her. In the darkness of their room, he moves by memory. Shedding clothes and redressing in the dark, not bothering to see if she's awake and waiting for him. He knows she isn't because he's decided to finally come home at midnight rather than the usual six o'clock.

When he collapses on the bed, he turns on his side, pulling her against him. She doesn't question him, simply going towards him, closing the gap.

He is asleep when he feels something crawl over him. His eyes open suddenly, hands reaching out for Sigyn. Yet, he cannot touch her for the intruder has nestled quietly between them. He stops himself from laughing when he sees Vali pressed against his mother who, now half-awake, wraps her arms around him, rubbing his back.

"What is it, Little One?" She whispers, trying to focus on the boy before her.

"I had a nightmare."

"Oh, Little One," she says, kissing the top of the boy's head. She glances up, meeting her husband's tired gaze. "Help?" She whispers over the boy's head.

He reaches out, hand touching between the boy's shoulders. The contact of magic relaxes the child who presses closer to Sigyn. She had introduced the technique when Vali had struggled to sleep through the night. While, he loved his son dearly, he didn't want for the boy to grow dependent on spells for relieving nightmares and had told her he didn't approve. Yet, she had laughed at his assumption and touched his arm and he had felt the radiating warmth of her palm against his skin. It wasn't removing the nightmare, she told him, keeping contact with him, it was simply a comforting technique that eased a child's fear of being alone. She told him how her mother had done it for her when she was a child, how it had been a reminder that she was loved and should not fear what her dreams told her.

"Thank you," she says softly, holding the child against her, her fingers smoothing his hair.

He nods, keeping his hand against the boy, feeling the beginnings of the child's magic touch back. It remains a reminder to him that her magic has been dampened, that the effect of another child has already taken it's toll on her abilities. She's assured him that it's a common enough problem with having magic that has been honed to healing, that her mother had similar symptoms when had her sister and her. Her body has simply focused itself to keeping the child safe and healthy, it's a statement that he should be grateful for since it lowers the chance of something wrong with the child.

"What was your nightmare?"

He realizes that there is a high probability that the boy will inherit the Vanir's ability to foresee. After all, the child had physically taken after Loki such that they had tried to wonder what possible facet of the child might reflect Sigyn.

"You were hurt, Mama."

She does not hesitate even when Loki sees the concern etch into her features. "What do you mean?"

"You were dying, Mama and nothing was saving you."

"I am perfectly fine," she says, hugging the little boy. "There is no need to worry, I'm not leaving you."

The boy relaxes, fists still clenching his mother's nightgown. Sigyn catches Loki gaze and he holds it, waiting for the sound of his son's breathing to even. "What do you think it was?" He asks, voice thin.

"I'm not sure," she says softly fingers still removing the tangles from Vali's dark hair. "It depends on the details."

This makes Loki nervous. If it were to be a vision, he thinks, it is one that he is frightened for when it could pass. Yet, if boy simply had an ordinary nightmare, it would be understandable. There have been moments when death has come close to both of them. It makes him laugh bitterly. Thor had reassured him that the avengers that he allied himself with were good people, that they would do no harm to Sigyn or Vali. Yet, they had her marked as an enemy of the world, a conspirator, someone who should not be trusted. She had freed him and he had freed her. While the details of their relationship, something he had never shared and was thankful that Thor had never shared, had never been discovered, only rough estimation of what she meant to him and how the child fit in. He had laughed when he heard their theories. She was a disillusioned woman with a bastard son who had allied herself with the enemy remained the most popular theory since no one could bring themselves to think that she was his wife and that was his son.

"Is there any way to find out?"

"Only to see if it comes to pass," she says quietly, knowing neither of them wants to see that play out.

* * *

><p>He is awoken by the presence of a weight on his chest. When he opens his eyes, he sees Vali leaning on him, hands pressing down as he kneels on the bed beside his father. "Wake up, Papa," he says, smiling. "Mama is making breakfast."<p>

He smiles, sitting up when Vali turns, leaping from the bed and running from the room. He follows behind at a slower pace, rubbing at his eyes. He passes the boy, laying on the couch, a book by Dr. Seuss opened before him, going into the kitchen by Sigyn. "Well?"

"What?" He asks, hovering behind her.

"You are usually gone before I'm awake." She throws a glance at him over her shoulder.

"I'm taking another break," he says, taking an apple from the basket on the counter.

"You picked a perfect day to start your break," she says, smiling.

"What do you mean?" He asks, biting into the apple.

"It's laundry day," she says.

"I haven't the slightest clue how to help you."

"Don't worry, Love," she says, turning and patting his shoulder. "Vali can help show you what to do."


	7. Chapter 7

**7.**

She slips from under his arm, following the sound of coughing. She gently nudges the door open, trying to keep the amount of light that streams in to a minimum. "Are you okay, Little One?" She asks, one hand pressed against the door frame while the other rests on the handle.

"No, Mama," he says, voice weak and broken by more coughs.

She walks into the room, kneeling by his bedside. "What is it, Dear?" She touches his forehead, sighing when she feels a fever.

"I'm hot, Mama," he says, wiggling from under his sheets. "And my throat hurts."

She gathers the child into her arms and he wraps his arms around her neck, burying his face into her shoulder. "Let's see what we can do about that, okay?"

She carries him into the living room, thinking of what she can do. Magic is out of the question but herbs can still do something, she thinks. While he coughs into her shoulder, one fist keeping his blanket from falling to the floor, she considers what might ease the fever. She paces in the room, running her hand in circles across his back.

"Mama, am I dying?"

"No, Little One," she says, kissing his forehead. "You simply have a fever."

"I feel like I am dying," he says, pressing his cheek against her shoulder.

"You are not," she says. A smile tugs at the corner of her lips when she finally decides what she can do to ease his fever. Carrying him into the kitchen with her, she uses her free hand to mix herbs with the hope of making a kind of tea that can help.

When she's finished, she pours it into one of the cups he drinks from. "Vali," she says, and the child stares at her. "Drink this. It will make you feel better."

She takes his blanket, throwing it over her shoulder, while he takes the cup from her hands, sipping from it before crinkling his nose. "It doesn't taste good," he says.

"But it will make you feel better. I promise."

Vali frowns but complies with his mother's instructions. She smoothes his hair, pausing when she feels a hand on her arm. Sigyn turns to see Loki standing there. "I'll take him," he says quietly. "Go back to bed."

"Papa," the little boy says after swallowing.

She transfers Vali into his arms and she smiles when the child snuggles against him, still sipping the mixture intended to reduce his fever. She drapes Vali's blanket over Loki's other shoulder, kissing his cheek.

"Wake me if something happens," she says.

"Of course." He kisses her. "Now, go to bed." She nods, slowly walking back to their room, glancing over her shoulder at the two of them.

When she wakes in the morning, she finds herself alone in their bed. Quietly stepping into the living room, she finds him laying on the couch, Vali sleeping on his chest still clutching his blanket. She picks up the cup that was left on the floor and is pleased to find it mostly empty.

She remains in the kitchen, making soup, when they begin to wake. It starts with Vali, she hears his cough begin to return, and she steps out of the kitchen. She stops however, smiling, when she sees Loki's arms curl around his son, asking if he's okay, while rubbing his back.

* * *

><p>"This is wretched."<p>

She sits at the edge of the bed, running her fingers through his hair, smiling at him. "You'll survive, Love."

"Of course, but I'm miserable now."

"Would you care for more soup?"

"Please."

She stands, taking the bowl from the nightstand. Vali was on the verge of getting better when Loki had come down with the same symptoms as his son. She had laughed at the horrified look on his face when he first began coughing.

She hasn't left the room when they hear the door open and Thor call their names. He glances at her and she sees the silent plea.

"I won't tell him you're ill," she says quietly. He nods, burying his face into his pillow.

She steps out into the hall, closing the door behind her. Thor and Vali's voices carry from the living room and she forms the lie in her head. She carries the bowl into the kitchen, setting it in the sink before glancing between Thor and Vali.

Thor smiles at his nephew. "Why don't you get that book you were telling me about?"

The boy nods, sliding down from the couch and running to his room, proving that his health has returned.

Thor steps closer to Sigyn. "I take it Loki will be away for a while now?"

"So he says."

"Where is he? I was hoping to talk with him."

"He's out right now," she says. She laughs when he stares at her. "I promise that nothing terrible is going on."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," she says.

Sigyn steps into the kitchen, quietly ladling more soup into the bowl when Vali returns, holding a book over his head. "Here it is, Uncle."

"Why don't you read it to me while I wait for your father to return."

The little boy stares at Thor, frowning. "What do you mean? Papa is in bed."

Thor shoots a glance over at Sigyn who sighs. "He's sick," she says, setting the lid on the pot. "And he would not like visitors," she adds when Thor begins to stand up.

"I need to speak with him."

"You can do that later," she says, carrying the bowl of soup back towards the bedroom. She closes the door behind her, hearing the beginnings of Vali reading aloud to Thor. He is crumpled in a heap of blankets and pillows, facedown on the mattress. She steps over, setting the bowl on the nightstand before sitting on the edge of the bed, running her fingers through his hair.

"He knows?" His voice is quiet, muffled by the pillow.

"He knows but he won't bother you."

"I am miserable, Sigyn."

"I know." She kisses the top of his head. "But you'll be better soon."


	8. Chapter 8

**8.**

"Vali, you should be in bed."

He says this, despite having tried five times already knowing the result will be the same; the boy will shake his head and sit in the chair that his father usually occupied. Yet, he feels it is worth another try. He wants to prove that he can watch his nephew without any difficulty because he is quite sure that it took convincing on Sigyn's part for Loki to agree and accept the idea that Thor would be one of the best candidates to handle watching their son.

The boy shakes his head. "I want Mama and Papa," he says, arms crossed over his chest.

"I don't know when they'll be back," he says, warily glancing at the boy who's had the same page open for the last twenty minutes. At first, Thor considered it a sign that the child had gotten stuck while reading the book that he had spread over his lap, but after suggesting that he read it to him, that he go to bed, he was reminded that this was Loki's son and simply keeping a specific page open did not mean that the child was stuck, simply caught up in thought.

"And you need to sleep," Thor repeats, but the boy simply shakes his head, flipping to the next page quite suddenly.

He is sure that Vali must not be this way for Loki and Sigyn. He has seen the boy try to argue when they want to send him to bed, going from the one who has told him to go to bed to the other in hopes that they will conflict in opinions -they never do-, but in the end, he was always good about following their final decisions.

Yet the boy remains defiant, sitting, eyes focusing on the pages before him without actually reading. He remembers Sigyn's observation, referring to their son as more Loki's son and sees what she means. The boy's poise, mannerisms and expression resemble his brother so closely that it brings to mind the days when he wanted Loki to come play with him and the boy refused, insisting he was reading something very interesting when in reality it was a book that he had read and finished at least ten times before.

"Why don't you read to me?" Thor finally asks and the boy perks up, slipping from the chair and carrying the book to his uncle. He suspects a change in tactics might help him win this fight and he opts for the one he thinks Loki would have fallen for.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

* * *

><p>The boy falls asleep against him, drifting off somewhere during his explanation of what the lesson from the story was, one of Sneechs and stars and no stars. Of course, Thor drifts off shortly after the boy, lulled by the explanation that sounds more like something Sigyn would say than Loki or even Vali could come up with.<p>

When Thor awakes, though, he finds the boy is gone, the book set upon the coffee table with care. He jumps, ready to call, ready to hunt down his nephew when he catches a glimpse of his brother nudging the door to the boy's room open.

Holding his tongue, he watches Loki disappear into the room, the boy sleeping against his shoulder. He waits for Loki to come back, blanched and haggard.

"What is it?" He is quick to ask, voice quiet. "Is something wrong?"

"Not now," he says, shaking his head. "Everything is fine now."

"What happened?"

Loki falls back into the chair that Vali had taken residence in for most of the night, hand pressed to his eyes. "It doesn't matter. It's okay now." He is quiet before speaking again, this time with more happiness lining his voice. "His name is Nari," he says, glancing up at Thor.

Thor beams, clapping his brother on the back. "He is well?"

"Perfectly healthy," he says.

"And Sigyn?"

The weary look returns and the beginnings of a smile vanish. "She is fine now."

Thor considers asking again, but settles on another question. "Why aren't you with her?"

"Because they ordered for her to rest and she insists that she cannot sleep if I am there."

Based upon the anxiety that is apparent in his brother's expression, Thor assumes it was more than that. He imagines Loki hovering near, never taking his eyes from her and his poor wife being unnerved and irritated to the point of sending away her husband.

"Of course."

* * *

><p>Vali awakes to find his father and uncle standing in the kitchen talking. The child pushes past his uncle to cling to his father. "Papa!" He glances up at his father, frowning. "Where is Mama?"<p>

"She is still at the hospital," he says, touching his son's head. "Would you like to visit her?" The boy nods frantically and Loki smiles. "Then you'll have to get ready."

Thor is surprised by how smoothly it all goes. In an instant the boy has separated himself from his father and is bounding back to his room with Loki following at a slower pace. In what seems like only seconds, the boy reappears dressed and ready to leave. Thor is ready to excuse himself when the child grips his hand.

"You're coming too, aren't you Uncle?" When Thor looks ready to say no because Loki looks ready to say no, Vali turns to his father. "Can Uncle come, too?"

Loki swallows before nodding. "Yes, he may come, too."

* * *

><p>Sigyn sits up, smiling when she sees the three of them walk in. Loki comes first, carrying Vali, with Thor trailing behind, looking slightly out of place. Vali attempts to wiggle from his father's arms at the sight of his mother but is kept from leaping over to her. He is eventually set down and he goes by his mother, crawling beside her. Thor watches from the doorway as Sigyn, holding Nari in her arms, shows Vali his little brother.<p>

When the nurse comes in, Sigyn hands the baby to Loki who steps away with Vali trailing him. Thor steps closer to his brother and nephews, smiling when he glances at Nari. After the nurse has taken down what she needs, she leaves and Thor looks at his brother.

"Are you happy?"

"Yes."


End file.
